“Our goals are always the same at the beginning of the season,” said Conneaut Lake head baseball coach Randy Schlosser. “Number one, we want to finish above .500. Two, is to win the region. Three, we want to make the playoffs. And number four is to win districts.

“This year, we hope we can accomplish three out of four.”

This season’s Region 2 title went to Linesville. So, that one’s out. However, Conneaut Lake did indeed finish above .500, completing the regular season at 12-4. And, of course, the Lakers made the playoffs. And now Goal No. 4 is just two wins away.

Step one for the Lakers starts today at 6:30 p.m. when they take on Northwestern in the first round of the District 10 Class AA playoffs at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.

Northwestern should be no stranger to Conneaut Lake baseball fans. In last season’s D-10 opening round, Northwestern ended Lake’s season, handing the Indians a 6-2 loss at S.R.U.

“We’re anxious to play them again,” said Schlosser. “We think we stack up pretty well. We had a scrimmage game (on Monday) and we played very well. We played relaxed yet aggressive. They seem to be ready to go.”

Northwestern comes into the game with a 13-6 record, finishing fourth in Region 3. They picked up a nice 9-6 win over Region 3 North East to end the season and ensure their spot in the playoffs.

“I’ve been doing this for quite a few years,” said Wildcats coach John Light, “and we’ve run out of momentum a few times at the end of this season. This season, it seems like we’re just catching our stride.”

Northwestern had a lot of holes in the line-up to fill from last year’s squad, including .500-hitter Weston Snyder, a quick outfielder in Mike Zappitella and their top pitcher in Chris Hatcher. Hatcher earned the win in last year’s playoff meeting with Conneaut Lake, holding the Indians to five hits.

However, the Wildcats still have a nice group of returners from last year’s squad, like senior short stop David Bihler, who is hitting .405 out of the lead-off spot.

Bihler is also one of the team’s top pitchers, along with sophomore Mike Dunn. Both righties, Bihler gets outs while Dunn gets strikeouts, according to Light.

Other Wildcat bats to look out for are senior catcher Marcus Paradise who leads the team with a .489 average, senior second baseman Cody Markovich at .388, sophomore first baseman Blaine Iskula at .360 and senior center fielder Zack Heberline at .300.

“Last year, we did have some outstanding numbers,” said Light. “Two or three of those guys are back for this year. We lost some power, but it seems like (the new players) filled those shoes nicely.”

Lake will counter with its own group of big bats. They are led by pitcher/third baseman Jay Bemis who is hitting .442, and followed by first baseman Travis Walls (.408), outfielder R.J. Baker (.397), DH Tyler Heberle (.351), infielder Eric Schell (.327) and catcher Adam Bronson (.300).

Bemis is also the Lakers’ top pitcher, going 6-0 with a 1.70 ERA and 28 strikeouts in over 35 innings. Schell follows with a pitching record of 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 36 Ks in 34 innings.